Friday, November 18, 2011

After a long wait and all the rumors Valve has announcedofficial release of DotA 2 in 2011 which will be released on both Mac & PC. As you may already know, IceFrog was hired by Valve in late 2009 for the development of most popular Warcraft 3 Mod - DotA. Now, they are about to release Valve DotA 2 in which the whole DotA concept will be ported in upgraded manner.

The vital change in DotA 2 is that it will run on Valve's Source Engine which will remove all the Warcraft 3 limitations. All the heroes, items, terrain, buildings will be ported same as in current version of DotA. Anyone who plays Warcraft 3 - Dota will instantly recognize DotA 2. However, there are still some things which are new in DotA 2.

Following are some features Valve introduced about incoming DotA 2:

In-game Voice Chat:
DotA 2 will have integrated voice chat feature which will allow players to communicate during game without using 3rd party software.

Leaver AI replacement:
Disconnected players will be replaced by AI bots which will take control over the hero. It will be available in unranked matches.

Heroes Voice:
DotA 2 will feature new voice work. You'll get amusing lines from heroes as they deny the enemy team last hits on creeps, and champions who have backstory connections will trade quips when nearby.

Rewards & Matchmaking System:
Valve is using it's traditional Steamworks as a matchmaking & community rewards system which will allow you to create in-game rewards for participating in community forums.

Coaching & Training System:
Once again, Valve is coming with a great innovation of coaching system which will be used to train a beginner to learn DotA 2 to sustain a respectable position in the community. It will allow veteran players to login as a coach. Coach can see beginner's screen and can get private voice chat during the game.

It is indeed a revolutionary & surprise step taken by Valve by entering in the world of MMO-RTS games with the help of IceFrog. Finally, DotA Fans had some relief after hearing some of the features of the upcoming DotA 2. The upgraded heroes are still looking remarkable in the images. It's good that Valve DotA 2 team revealed something but fans will still consider it as a drop in a ocean that IceFrog still refused to disclose his name in the community.

Stay tuned for the further updates, DotA-Utilities will be your final stop for all the news & updates for DotA 2.